your voice leaves me breathless
by asylumsession
Summary: When Kaminari smiles, it's like all the lights are drawn to him, slowing down for just a heartbeat to revolve around this human-shaped sun.


When he's a kid, Tetsutetsu sits at his father's feet.

Tetsutetsu Kenji is a narrow man, not too tall, and gray to his roots. It's a curse in their family, he always says, the early gray hair, or the always gray hair in Tetsutetsu's case. His father is all worn smiles and gentle but firm hands, and he looks at Tetsutetsu's mom like she's the center of the universe. Sometimes, late at night, Tetsutetsu hears them dancing to old music that he doesn't recognize, and they laugh until the sun comes up.

When he's a kid, Tetsutetsu sits at his father's feet and watches him gaze wistfully out the window. He's never quite sure what his father is looking at; there's this film covering Kenji's dark eyes like his mind creeps somewhere that Tetsutetsu can never hope to reach.

"You have to be careful," his father tells him one evening, voice a passing whisper, face dipped in flitting shadows, "or a city like this will eat your mind."

Tetsutetsu doesn't really understand it at the time, but his father smiles gently and everything is right again, if only just for the moment.

Tetsutetsu grows up in a city that never sleeps. Every single moment of every single day is filled to the brim with unrelenting noise and bright lights, and time seems to slip through his fingers like sand through an hourglass. He lives on repeat like a broken record: school, work, home again, and it's like he's holding his breath, grasping uselessly at the hours and minutes and seconds that tick past him in a whirlwind of color.

He moves into his first apartment with his two dogs when he's twenty-one. His parents are tearful when he leaves, but knows they won't stay in the city for much longer. Tetsutetsu Kenji and Hoshi are free spirits and staying in a place like this saps the life from them. He sees it in their eyes, in the restless way their fingers grasp at the handles on the trains. They'll leave soon.

Tetsutetsu isn't like them. When he leaves, he feels like they're the only ones gaining any semblance of freedom. He's merely opting to stay behind, allowing them to release the weight keeping them there.

He meets Kaminari Denki by unadulterated chance. He's a few paces behind when a man grabs for the shoulder bag a blond boy in front of him is carrying – but the blond boy doesn't let go. In all his maybe five-foot-seven glory, Tetsutetsu watches this lightning bolt of a boy sneer at his would-be thief, even as he's desperately threatening him.

"Oi!" Tetsutetsu calls out, never one to stand by idly, drawing the man's attention to him.

He looks terrified, and rightfully so, because Tetsutetsu is a six-foot-five wall of muscle and doesn't really look too happy.

"Don't be—" Tetsutetsu blinks, and suddenly a taser is shoved into the thief's side. "— a _jerk!_"

_Oh_, Tetsutetsu thinks, a little surprised by this spitfire of a boy, as the thief seizes and drops to the ground. It's almost comedic how delicately, the boy steps over him and prances right over to Tetsutetsu, unceremoniously shoving the taser back into his bag.

"Yo!" He greets cheerfully. "Thanks for distracting him!"

"Uh," says Tetsutetsu, eloquently, "it… ain't a problem, I think. You did most of the work."

"Teamwork, then!" He laughs, sticking out his hand. "I'm Kaminari Denki. Mind if I get you a coffee to repay you?"

"Uh," Tetsutetsu replies again, slowly reaching to shake, "yeah? I'm Tetsutetsu Tetsutetsu."

He takes the boy's hand, a silent pact, sealing his fate for the days to come.

Tetsutetsu's lived in the city his whole life, and yet Kaminari manages to lead him to a hole-in-the-wall café that he's never seen before. It's a quaint little place, tiny and comfortable with dimmed lights and chalkboard walls, beanbags and couches littering the floor. Kaminari's insistent on buying the drinks and goes to a particular corner booth like he's done it a million times before.

"How do ya know about this place?" Tetsutetsu asks him, gazing around.

"My best friend performs here every Saturday," Kaminari answers, matter-of-factly. "I'm staying with her while I'm in town, so I get to attend her performances and play with her sometimes."

"You're a musician, then?"

Kaminari visibly lights up. "Yeah! I'm on the road a lot because of it – I'm only here for a month and a half, but 'Rou introduced me to this place the first night I came in. She's friends with the owner, so he has her perform here every weekend. Brings in a lotta business for both of them. Music's been our thing since we were kids." His smile softens. "But I wanted to see the world, y'know?"

Tetsutetsu doesn't know. His world exists only within the city limits.

Kaminari leans forward to rest his elbows on the table, dropping his chin on his palm. "What about you, huh?" He asks with a little laugh, the toe of his combat boots nudging Tetsutetsu's shin beneath the table. "I'm doing all the talking. Who's Tetsutetsu?"

Tetsutetsu isn't sure how to answer that. Who _is_ Tetsutetsu? A boy who's spending his life withering away in a city that's constantly _on,_ with no path in mind besides tomorrow? He takes a sip of his coffee - as bitter as he'd requested - while Kaminari's own is some caramel abomination. Tetsutetsu isn't sure how he stomachs something that sweet.

"I work at a gym," he finally says, "and I live downtown in an apartment with my dogs, Mio and Ryo. Nothin' too impressive. I'm no traveling musician or somethin' like that."

"Of course," Kaminari beams, raising his cup in acknowledgment, "that'd be too easy, wouldn't it?"

"Maybe," Tetsutetsu agrees with a crooked smile, and fifteen minutes later, they go their separate ways.

Tetsutetsu doesn't expect to run into the storm that is Kaminari Denki again. Strokes of luck like that are fleeting, a brief, particularly bright light in the passing blur of street signs. Against all odds, the universe has more plans for Tetsutetsu than this fast-lane existence, and three days later, he startles at the sight of a familiar face smashing up against the glass doors of the gym he works in.

Kaminari brightens visibly when he spots Tetsutetsu, half tripping through the doors and bypassing the front counter entirely. He looks so out of place here, bright and golden against the metallics of the machines, tiny and narrow and birdlike against the bulk of people Tetsutetsu is used to training.

"I found you!" He grins. "It only took eight other gyms, too!"

Tetsutetsu can't even ask him if he'd really searched through every gym in the city because Kaminari's thrusting his phone into Tetsutetsu's hand. Tetsutetsu stares down at the blinking line on the _new contact_ screen, aware of the expectant gaze on him.

"We never exchanged numbers," Kaminari says, as if it's a perfectly good explanation as to why he'd spent the past three days searching half the gyms in the city for a guy who may not have been working that day.

Tetsutetsu can't help it; he laughs. His laugh is loud and boisterous and for once, carefree. "You're one crazy dude, Kaminari Denki," he remarks, putting his number in and saving it, "searching half the city for one guy."

When Kaminari smiles, it's like all the lights are drawn to him, slowing down for just a heartbeat to revolve around this human-shaped sun.

Suffice to say, Kaminari learns his schedule quickly. He's outside when Tetsutetsu gets off, and they walk the same direction to return home. Kaminari always breaks off halfway there and carries on with a little bounce to his step and a hum on his lips. They talk about anything that comes to mind. Tetsutetsu tells Kaminari about Mio and Ryo, about how they were street dogs before he'd taken them in, and now they were his closest companions. Kaminari tells Tetsutetsu about growing up with his best friend – Jirou, he says – and how he got into music.

As winter creeps in on every clouded breath, Kaminari talks about the night-time.

"I grew up in a small town," he tells Tetsutetsu, soft laughter forming hazy clouds around his rosy cheeks, "so the night was all I had. The fireflies would come out, these tiny little bugs blinking in the darkness, and Jirou and I would go out and dance among them for hours."

"I don't really care for the night-time." Tetsutetsu admits, lips tugging down. "Around here, it's just dangerous."

Kaminari grins. "That just means you haven't seen it properly yet."

His fingers lace in between Tetsutetsu's and breaks them from their usual course home, back towards the city center and to the park. It's quieter here, near silent, and it has Tetsutetsu on guard instinctively. Kaminari still has his hand, but he seems so at ease, falling into a slow, easy pace alongside him as he guides them to a secluded area near the park's center.

"I come here every chance I get," Kaminari breathes. "It's the only place in the city you can see the stars."

Kaminari drops onto the grass and tows Tetsutetsu into the spot next to him. He looks up and Tetsutetsu follows his gaze and – _ah_. Overhead, the sky is an expanse of glitter: swirls of stars and galaxies painting the sky like a mural. Tetsutetsu can't remember the last time he saw the stars like this – saw them outside of photographs and television screens at all. He wonders if this is the sight Kaminari grew up with.

He looks to Kaminari, glowing like a beacon in the darkness. It's amazing how awed he still seems to be by this, even though he's undoubtedly seen it a million times before. He doesn't know if it's the stars or the way Kaminari looks at them that takes his breath away, but it steals the air from his lungs like a whirlwind.

"You know, I was an awful student in school," Kaminari admits, turning to face Tetsutetsu, and he's so close that Tetsutetsu can feel the warmth of his breath, "class clown and all. But, man, they'd start talking about all the constellations and stuff and I just— like, isn't that the coolest? It's terrifying that we're all the way down here and so _tiny_, but it's amazing that there's so much cool stuff out there. All those… space rocks and planets."

There's something about the enchantment in Kaminari's eyes, the sense of wonder in his voice, high and excited and wavering, that makes Tetsutetsu stop breathing altogether. He stops and listens to the way his heart thrums in his ears, stops and watches the way Kaminari gestures widely and enthusiastically.

"We used to run through the fields and try to catch the fireflies. But after that, we'd lay in the grass and try to find the constellations. The dippers were the easiest, and Ursa Major and Minor by extension, but we'd spend so much time trying to count all the stars and finding our favorites. Jirou's favorite constellation was the Archer. I always liked Perseus." He laughs again, and turns his head to gaze at Tetsutetsu with a quiet sort of fondness. "Hey, Tetsutetsu?"

Kaminari's eyes are so, so gold, molten and warm.

"Thanks for coming."

Tetsutetsu gazes back for a long moment. Perhaps he can learn to enjoy the night-time after all.

"Thanks for bringin' me," he replies, reaching out to take Kaminari's hand again.

He's constantly aware of their limited time together, about what happens when their month and a half ends, but Tetsutetsu begins to spend nights like this with Kaminari, and the more he does, the more he understands the allure of it all. There's something soft about the darkness, especially here in the park, where he feels so far away from everything he knows. Here, with Kaminari, he's far from the noise and the blinding city lights and the constant _life_ all around him.

Here, everything seems to slow down and focus into the streak of sensation that creeps up Tetsutetsu's arm when Kaminari takes his hand.

Kaminari rolls over to face Tetsutetsu one night in the grass, wind wreathing around them, and his fingertips are so, so gentle over Tetsutetsu's cheek. He thinks Kaminari is like a firefly himself, a pinprick of light in the ever-present darkness, delicate and beautiful.

_Ah_, Tetsutetsu thinks, as the soft press of Kaminari's lips against his own gives him an entirely new reason to enjoy the night.

He exhales.


End file.
